This past Lent, I gave a Parish Mission focused on the acronym RIM (Relationship, Identity, Mission). The logic is that a foundational relationship with Christ secures us in a godly identity which frees us for fruitfully fulfilling our mission that God has entrusted to us. The logic of RIM couldn't be more apparent than it is in today's readings. 

I want to encourage you to register to vote for the August 8 Special Election where Ohio citizens can vote on Issue 1 to "Require that any proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio receive the approval of at least 60 percent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment."

Happy Independence Day! As we celebrate our freedom this weekend, choose to be grateful to God for entrusting you with the responsibility to love sacrificially. Freedom is such a wonderful gift of God.

This week we welcome our new parochial vicar, Fr. Fabian Han, to our parish! Fr. Fabian is a newly ordained priest from the Archdiocese of Daegu, South Korea. He has studied in our seminary the past four years and was ordained a priest on May 20.

Happy Father's Day! A warm blessing to all of our dads as we thank them for the gift of their fatherhood this Sunday. Just like the title "Mother", the title "Father" has profound relational and spiritual meaning.

I am excited to celebrate with you this weekend Corpus Christi, or the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ! Not only do we get to honor Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence with us, we also kickoff our Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity that we celebrate this weekend helps us appreciate the personal way that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Catechism writes, "God communicates Himself to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ" (CCC 53).

Blessings to all of you this Memorial Day Weekend. This week we honor those who gave their lives in service to our country to preserve our God-given freedoms that promote human dignity and development.

The Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord which we celebrate this weekend draws us deeper into our Lord's mystical and Eucharistic presence with us. Matthew's Gospel concludes with Jesus' parting words to His disciples: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of our beloved "Coach" Mare Von Lindern who passed away unexpectedly on May 2. Coach Von Lindern loved St. Mary School and Parish.

This Fifth Sunday of Easter we open our hearts to know Jesus as "the way and the truth and the life." Jesus is not a way to God, or a truth to be believed, or a path of life to follow. He is the way, truth, and life - not merely one among many other options.

I am excited to welcome Deacon Duckhyun (Fabian) Han as our next parochial vicar! Deacon Fabian will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, May 20 and begin his four-year assignment with us starting in late June at St. Mary Chardon and St. Patrick Thompson.

Listen to the words of longing expressed by the disciples on the road to Emmaus. "Stay with us, Lord" and "Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way!"

St. John Paul II named the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday when he canonized St. Faustina Kowalska on April 30, 2000. Divine Mercy is more than a pious devotion of the Church.

Happy Easter, and a warm welcome to all who are visiting this weekend. The Lord is risen! Today, Christ rose victorious from the grave and conquered our ancient foes of sin and death.

The readings today for Palm Sunday and throughout Holy Week invite us to journey to the Holy Land where the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus took place. Whether or not you've made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we all have a special connection to that place where our Lord lived, died, and rose again from the dead.

The Gospel for this Fifth Sunday of Lent concerning the raising of Lazarus from the dead is the third "scrutiny" Gospel. The past two weeks, we heard the first and second scrutiny Gospels with the Samaritan woman at the well and the healing of the blind man. These three Gospels are geared not only to us who are already living the Catholic life, but also toward those in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults who are seeking to be baptized this Easter.

This Fourth Sunday of Lent teaches us the importance of seeing as God sees. We all have narrow vision due to being finite human beings with a limited perspective.

This Third Sunday of Lent, we hear about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. This woman went to the well at noon (in the heat of the day) precisely because she didn't want to meet anyone there.

As we listen to the Gospel account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, we are met with some of the most intimate words of encounter between God and man.